Karoline Leavitt is stepping down as Trump's press secretary. Here are 25 claims we've investigated about her

On Aug. 12, 2026, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced (archived) in a social media post that she would be stepping down from her role at the end of the month to spend time with her family. U.S. President Donald Trump posted his own farewell message (archived), writing on Truth Social that "Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party." Soon after Leavitt, then 27, entered the White House in 2025 as the youngest press secretary ever, we debunked her claim that the Trump administration had just stopped millions of dollars in funding for condoms in Gaza and fact-checked another rumor she spread that the U.S. Agency for International Development provided a $32,000 grant to help fund a "transgender comic book" in Peru. We've also dug into true claims involving Leavitt, such as an image purportedly showing her wearing a shirt that read "Make America Blonde Again" and the rumor that the Department of Homeland Security detained her brother's ex-fiancée, a Brazilian national. Below are 25 of our top rumors involving Leavitt: Sources 'Donald J. Trump: "Our Wonderful White House Press Secretary, and One of My Most Trusted Aides,...' Trump's Truth, https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/40759. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.Miller, Brittany. 'Trump Says Karoline Leavitt Will Leave White House Press Secretary Role, Become Outside Advisor'. Text.Article. Fox News, Fox News, 12 Aug. 2026, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-karoline-leavitt-leave-white-house-press-secretary-role-become-outside-advisor.'White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Youngest Person to Hold Role, to Leave at Month's End'. AP News, 12 Aug. 2026, https://apnews.com/article/trump-press-secretary-leavitt-dc3753a957b05ef554bf277221d9cf46.@karolineleavitt. X.com. https://x.com/karolineleavitt/status/2087625708554100999. By Taija PerryCook Taija PerryCook is a Seattle-based journalist who previously worked for the PNW news site Crosscut and the Jordan Times in Amman. Article Tags